a. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to air filtration systems, and more particularly, to a compact, high volume dust and fume collector for an industrial environment.
b. Related Art
Many industrial operations require air filtration systems to remove particulates and fumes from the workspace atmosphere, for reasons of both safety and productivity.
This is particularly true in heavy manufacturing and other operations that involve significant amounts of welding, grinding and other activities which generate thick smoke and large quantities of dust. The resulting heavy loads of airborne particulates can cause severe stress to both people and machines. Unlike xe2x80x9ccleanerxe2x80x9d operations, which are able to rely on centralized, comparably low volume air filtration systems, such heavy manufacturing operations require powerful, high capacity systems which will draw smoke, fumes and particulate material away from individual work stations in an effective and rapid manner.
The consistent problem with prior exhaust and filtration systems used in these embodiments is that the heavy particulate loads cause rapid plugging of the filters, necessitating frequent cleaning as well as replacement of the filter elements in order to maintain operating efficiency. Because of the trouble and cost involved, such a treatment is often deferred, to the point where the efficiency of the system often becomes significantly degraded. Moreover, many manufacturing operations generate oily fumes and smoke, so that without very frequent cleaning or replacement, the filter elements tend to become saturated with oil and other hydrocarbon materials. This in turn presents an extreme fire hazard: Because of their very nature, the ventilation and filtration systems tend to collect airborne sparks from the work area, and so it is not uncommon for a spark or other heated particulate material to come into contact with the filter element. If the filter element is oil-soaked the spark can ignite a fire, which is then fanned by the exhaust air flowing through the system; incidents like this have caused major conflagrations at a number of manufacturing facilities, resulting in significant danger to human life and losses running to the millions of dollars.
The increased demands for power and capacity have also lead to corresponding increases in the physical size of the air filtration systems themselves. In part, this is because the makers of conventional systems have chosen to increase capacity by simply increasing the number of filter cartridges in the system. The resulting increases in size present serious problems for many manufacturing facilities, where operating space is at a premium and where production demands often leave little or no room for conventional dust collectors.
Furthermore, the large physical size of most prior high-volume collector/filtration systems obviates any possibility of these systems being configured for portable use. This is a serious drawback in many operations, where it is often desirable to be able to move the filtration system from one workstation or part of the facility to another, depending on when and where specific operations are being performed.
Yet another problem associated with conventional dist and fume collectors is the excessive noise that they tend to generate during operation. In particular, the need for increased capacity has lead to the use of increasingly larger and louder blowers in these systems. Adding this noise on top of that which is generated by the manufacturing operations themselves tends to create an extremely stressful and ridicule work environment, which can be detrimental to both production efficiency and employee well being.
Accordingly, there exists a need for a powerful, high volume dust and fume collector which is able to remove and collect heavy particulate loads without requiring excessive cleaning or replacement of the filter elements. Furthermore, there exists a need for such a dust and fume collector that is capable of filtering oils and hydrocarbon-laden fumes and smoke without presenting a fire hazard in the event that a stray spark is drawn into the system. Still further, there exists a need for such a fume and dust collector having compact dimensions so as to minimize the space occupied thereby when installed in a manufacturing facility. Still further, there exists a need for such a dust and fume collector which can be configured as a portable assembly, so as to be readily transportable from one workstation or part of a facility to the next. Still further, there exists a need for such an apparatus which is highly efficient, and which provides a powerful exhaust flow to quickly and effectively remove fumes and dust from a workstation. Still further, there exists a need for such and apparatus that emits acceptably lower levels of noise while operating. Still further, there exists a need for such an apparatus which is economical to manufacture, and which is easy and economical to service.
The present invention has solved the problems cited above, and is a compact, powerful apparatus for collecting dust and fumes.
Broadly, this comprises a collector barrel having a generally cylindrical interior which is mounted so that a cylindrical axis thereof is aligned in a substantially vertical direction, a filter element having a general cylindrical exterior and a hollow interior, the filter element extending substantially coaxially within the collector barrel so as to define an annular flow space between the two, and means for directing incoming air on a generally cyclonic path through the annular flow space, so that relatively heavier particulate material in the incoming air is forced outwardly towards the interior of the collector barrel, while relatively finer particulate material is collected by the filter element as filtered air is drawn from the interior thereof.
The means for directing the incoming air may comprise a plurality of fixed vanes mounted at the upper end of the collector barrel for directing the air in a generally downward direction along the cyclonic path through the flow space. The apparatus may further comprise a bower for drawing the filtered air from the interior of the filter element, and the vane assembly, collector barrel, filter element and blower may all be mounted in an in-line configuration so as to form a compact assembly.
The collector apparatus may further comprise a silencer assembly for reducing noise emissions from the blower. The silencer assembly may comprise at least one chamber having interior walls for redirecting a flow of air that is discharged from a blower, the walls of the chamber being lined with an acoustic insulation material for absorbing acoustic energy from the flow of air as it is redirected by the walls. The silencer assembly may further comprise a plurality of exhaust channels through which the discharged air is directed, each of the channels being lined with acoustic insulation material.
The invention also provides a method for collecting dust and fumes. The method comprises the steps of passing the flow of incoming air into an annular flow space defined between a collector barrel having a generally cylindrical interior and a filter element having a generally cylindrical axis thereof is aligned in a substantially vertical direction and so that the filter element extends substantially co-axially within the barrel, and directing the incoming air along a generally cyclonic flow path through the annular flow space, so that relatively heavier particulate material in the incoming air is forced outwardly towards the interior of the collector barrel while relatively finer particulate material is collected by the filter element as filtered air is drawn from an interior thereof.
These and other features and advantages of the present invention will be better understood from a reading of the following detailed description in conjunction with the associated figures.